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March 2008 Blog Posts (100)

Dollars and sense in innovation

March 14, 2008 Dollars and sense in innovation Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Give me a good gadget and I'm happy. I think a lot of people in radiology would say the same thing. It's the reason crowds gathered 15 years ago to see 3D reconstructions revolving aimlessly in space. It's why MR was a hit in the early 1980s. Historically, good gadgets seem to succeed, even when those technologies are ahead of their time. Take 3T, for… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 14, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Cardiac CT supporters celebrate Medicare decision to maintain status quo

March 13, 2008 Cardiac CT supporters celebrate Medicare decision to maintain status quo James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardiac CT supporters are crediting a multisociety lobbying effort and solid scientific evidence for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decision Wednesday to not move forward with a national coverage policy for coronary CT angiography. Enactment of a national coverage determination for coronary CTA would… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 13, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Teleradiology plays major role in rise of clinician-owned imaging centers

March 13, 2008 Teleradiology plays major role in rise of clinician-owned imaging centers Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teleradiology and the advent of advanced imaging modalities are driving the recent surge in clinician-owned imaging centers. The maturation of MRI and the introduction of extremity scanners have played significant roles in the evolution of office-based physician-owned imaging. "Many orthopedic groups, for instance,… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 13, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

MRI unveils hidden cardiac disease in patients with systemic sclerosis

March 13, 2008 MRI unveils hidden cardiac disease in patients with systemic sclerosis H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardiac MR imaging with delayed gadolinium enhancement can detect silent myocardial fibrosis and other cardiac abnormalities in patients with systemic sclerosis, German researchers told attendees of a cardiac session in Vienna. Systemic sclerosis affects mostly connective tissue and blood vessels of the skin. It can… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 13, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

iCAD prepares CR mammography CAD for market

March 13, 2008 iCAD prepares CR mammography CAD for market Labeling negotiations with FDA near end, chief exec predicts 2Q launch ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The director of the FDA's Office of Device Evaluation has informed iCAD that the agency will approve its SecondLook Digital computer-aided detection software for use on Fujifilm's computed radiography mammography system (CRm), according to Ken Ferry, president and CEO of the company. iCAD… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 13, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Congress may not find fix for impending Medicare physician rate cut

March 13, 2008 Congress may not find fix for impending Medicare physician rate cut James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pro-physician forces are marching down a politically rocky road to avoid an impending 10.6% midyear cut in professional fees covered by the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Feb. 1 that federal legislation passed late last year to increase Medicare Part B physician… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 13, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Whole-body cancer staging requires frequent follow-up in some patients

March 12, 2008 Whole-body cancer staging requires frequent follow-up in some patients H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whole-body MRI is more sensitive but less specific than FDG-PET/CT for cancer detection, according to researchers from China and Europe. Findings suggest a complementary rather than exclusive role in oncologic imaging for both modalities and validate recent studies suggesting close follow-up since either test can miss… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 12, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Report from ECR: CT assists in aftermath of terror attacks

March 12, 2008 Report from ECR: CT assists in aftermath of terror attacks Paula Gould -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiologists are playing a central role in the aftermath of terror attacks in Israel, according to a report at the European Congress of Radiology. CT is now regarded as the primary diagnostic tool in incidents involving multiple casualties, Dr. Ahuva Engel told attendees at the "ESR meets Israel" session. Between 2000 and 2007,… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 12, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Medicare rules against national payment policy for cardiac CT

March 12, 2008 Medicare rules against national payment policy for cardiac CT James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided against establishing a national coverage determination for cardiac CT and coronary CT angiography. CMS announced Wednesday that it will stick with its previous policy based on local coverage determinations for cardiac CT. LCDs favoring Medicare reimbursement for its… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 12, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Report from ECR: Delayed-enhancement MR saves senior marathon runners from lethal lap

March 11, 2008 Report from ECR: Delayed-enhancement MR saves senior marathon runners from lethal lap H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marathon runners 50 years or older may face a higher than expected risk of sudden cardiovascular accidents. MR imaging with late gadolinium enhancement may help identify these athletes in time to keep them from potentially deadly episodes, according to German researchers reporting at the 2008 European… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 11, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Dutch doctors tout ultrasound for appendicitis in children, caution against CT overuse

March 10, 2008 Dutch doctors tout ultrasound for appendicitis in children, caution against CT overuse Frances Rylands-Monk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The number of CT scans performed in the pediatric abdomen in the U.S. is high compared with Europe, possibly because doctors fear legal action in the case of a missed pathology or disease. Rather than using CT for appendicitis, many doctors in the Netherlands still prefer to use ultrasound to… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 10, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Doppler ultrasound provides clear diagnosis of tennis elbow

March 10, 2008 Doppler ultrasound provides clear diagnosis of tennis elbow Wendy Despain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neovascularity measured with power Doppler ultrasound can be used to both diagnose and rule out tennis elbow. This approach could improve patient care, as clinicians start their search sooner for less common causes of elbow pain, instead of waiting to see if treatment for tennis elbow resolves the problem. Dr. Cornelius du Toit… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 10, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Delayed-enhancement MR saves senior marathon runners from lethal lap

March 10, 2008 Delayed-enhancement MR saves senior marathon runners from lethal lap H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marathon runners 50 years or older may face a higher than expected risk of sudden cardiovascular accidents. MR imaging with late gadolinium enhancement may help identify these athletes in time to keep them from potentially deadly episodes, according to German researchers. Regular physical exercise reduces cardiovascular… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 10, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Data stored on CD media show vulnerability to alteration

March 10, 2008 Data stored on CD media show vulnerability to alteration Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physical security issues for CD media used to transfer imaging data from one institution to another have been well documented. Discs tend to stack up in back offices and are frequently lost. A study from Denmark reveals that data on the disc are not well-protected either and are vulnerable to easy alteration (J Digit Imaging 2007… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 10, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

CT assists in aftermath of terror attacks

March 10, 2008 CT assists in aftermath of terror attacks Paula Gould -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiologists are playing a central role in the aftermath of terror attacks in Israel, delegates heard on Sunday. CT is now regarded as the primary diagnostic tool in incidents involving multiple casualties, Dr. Ahuva Engel told attendees at the "ESR meets Israel" session. Between 2000 and 2007, Israel was subject to 148 suicide attacks and… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on March 10, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Vendors match wares in first ECR workstation face-off

March 10, 2008 Vendors match wares in first ECR workstation face-off John C. Hayes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Representatives for five workstation vendors worked fast and furiously to complete an assigned set of image postprocessing tasks during the ECR's first workstation face-off Saturday. The tasks covered common challenges in postprocessing: finding and measuring coronary stenoses revealed on coronary CT scans and polyps obtained via CT… Continue